About the Jews of Color Caucus

The Jews of Color Caucus within JFREJ is a politically and culturally engaged affinity space for progressive Jews of Color as we contribute to JFREJ's many campaigns, and influence the overall political organizing strategy of JFREJ. The caucus hosts cultural events for ourselves and also for the broader JFREJ membership, and builds shared political purpose about the needs of our community, taking action to achieve those goals. As a collective of the JFREJ members most impacted by racism, we are committed to ensuring our voices are involved in all key JFREJ organizational decision making, from the Board of Directors to electoral endorsements, to campaign leadership.

Our community has a rich history of contribution to the political organizing at JFREJ:

JFREJ members assemble for Torah Academy

In May of 2016, the JFREJ Jews of Color Caucus, in partnership with the Jewish Multiracial Network (JMN), organized the Jews of Color National Convening, the historic national convening of JOCs focused on racial justice, attended by over 140 JOCs from across the country. The same summer, members of the JOC Caucus organized a series of escalating Jews4BlackLives actions, which brought together hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers and their allies in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Movement For Black Lives, the Right To Know Act, and the families of New Yorkers murdered by the NYPD. In 2018, the Black members of the JOC Caucus hosted a unique, inspiring Juneteenth Seder, and in the spring of 2019, we reprised the Juneteenth Seder with an even larger gathering, and also created the JOC Torah Academy. Since then, the JOC Torah Academy has become an independent program, run by and for Jews of Color. In January 2019, members of the JOC Caucus helped organize and attend the Jewish Women of Color Marching contingent of the Women's March. In 2021, following the horrific mass shooting attack on Asian women workers in Atlanta, Asian members of the JOC Caucus organized Jews for Asians, a call for non-Asian New York Jews to provide community safety at vigils around the city.

Photo of Black Jewish women holding a Torah and signs that say "Jewish women of color march for justice"